New Poll: Religion and the 2008 Election
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This election cycle, religion was once again a hot topic on the campaign trail. Faith in Public Life, Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good and Sojourners commissioned this survey from Public Religion Research to get an in-depth look at the shift in priorities and moral agenda for Catholics, evangelicals, and religious voters overall in the 2008 election.
Key Findings:
Almost twice the number of white evangelicals who voted for Obama say he shares their values, is “friendly” to religion. Although only 21% of white evangelicals surveyed voted for Obama, nearly double that number say he is “friendly” to religion (39%) and shares their values (39%).
Obama significantly improves upon perceptions of Democratic Party’s “friendliness” to religion. Fifty-four percent of voters see Obama as friendly to religion, and a similar percentage see McCain as “friendly” to religion (58%). While McCain’s numbers are similar to those Pew found in August 2008 for Republican Party “friendliness” to religion (52%), Obama’s numbers represent a 16-point improvement over his party’s numbers (38%) and a 5-point increase from Faith in Public Life’s pre-election findings among the general public (49%).
Palin nomination resulted in net loss for GOP ticket. Palin’s nomination increased support among fewer than one-third of white evangelicals (30%), and decreased support among every other religious group and political independents. Among white evangelicals, a majority (54%) say her selection didn't affect their support for McCain, and an additional 14% say her selection made them less likely to support McCain.
While 1-in-5 evangelicals and 1-in-8 Catholics say an agenda focused primarily on abortion and same-sex marriage best reflects their values, majorities of evangelical and Catholic voters want a broad agenda. While 1in-8 Catholics (13%) say an agenda primarily focused on abortion and same-sex marriage best reflects their values, 1-in-3 (32%) say an agenda primarily focused on issues like fighting poverty, protecting the environment, and ending the war in Iraq best reflects their values. Fifty-one percent say an agenda focused on all of these issues best reflects their values. Among white evangelicals, roughly the same number say an agenda that primarily focuses on abortion and same-sex marriage on the one hand (21%) and poverty, the environment, and the war in Iraq on the other (18%) best reflects their values. Fifty-five percent say an agenda that focuses on all of these issues best reflects their values.
Evangelical, Catholic voters reject narrow political focus, embrace the common good. Large majorities of Catholics (72%) and white evangelicals (81%) say people of faith should focus on all issues that are central to their values even if it makes them less effective in politics, rather than focusing on one or two issues in order to be more politically effective. Strong majorities of Catholics (71%) and evangelicals (62%) also believe people of faith should advocate for policies that “protect the interests of all and promote the common good,” rather than policies that “protect their values and way of life.”
Common ground approach to reducing abortion is overwhelmingly popular. The vast majority (83%) of voters, including white evangelicals (86%) and Catholics (81%), believe elected leaders should work together to find ways to reduce abortions by helping prevent unwanted pregnancies, expanding adoption, and increasing economic support for women who want to carry their pregnancies to term.
All religious groups rank economy as top issue, blame institutions rather than individuals for economic crisis. When asked to identify the first and second most important issue to their vote, 70% of voters say the economy, followed by Iraq (35%), health care (31%), terrorism (19%), abortion (14%) and same-sex marriage (6%). Asked who they think is responsible for the current economic crisis, a plurality (38%) say corporations who were greedy, nearly one-third (31%) say negligent government, and one-quarter (25%) say individuals who were careless.
Twice as many Catholics believe diplomacy rather than military strength is the best way to ensure peace; evangelicals are split. Nearly twice as many Catholics think the best way to ensure peace is through diplomacy rather than military strength (61% vs. 32%), much like the general population (61% vs. 29%). White evangelicals split evenly over whether diplomacy or military strength is the best way to ensure peace (43% each).
